たって

Conjunction (Basic ㊦ 461)

Even if someone did something or something were in some state (the desired result would not come about) or even if someone or something is in some state.

Equivalent: Even if ~

あの人には話したって分からない・分かりません。: Even if I tell him that, he won't understand it.
僕はその切符を高くたって買う・買います。: I will buy the ticket even if it is expensive.
お金があったって車は買いたくない。: Even if I had money, I wouldn't want to buy a car.
本を買ったって、忙しくて読めない。: Even if I buy books, I'm too busy to read them.
汚くたって構いません。: I don't care even if it is dirty.
遠くて不便だってマイ・ホームなら構いません。: Even if it is far away and inconvenient, it doesn't matter if it is 'my home'.
どんなにいい先生だって時々間違います。: No matter how good a teacher may be, he sometimes makes mistakes.

Formation

(i) Vinformal past	って
	話しって	Even if someone talks/talked
	食べだって	Even if someone eats/ate
(ii) Adjective い stem	くたって
	高くたって	Even if something is/were expensive
(iii) {Adjective な stem/ N}	だっ(たっ)て
	静かだっ(たっ)て	Even if something is/were quiet
	先生だっ(たっ)て	Even if someone is/were a teacher

Notes

1. たって is used strictly in informal spoken Japanese, and is used to indicate something counter to fact. However, the counterfactual (or subjunctive) nature of this construction is not very strong. See Example (a).

2. たって can take どんなに (as in Example (e)) meaning 'no matter how'. More examples follow.

a. どんなに考えたって分からないよ。
No matter how hard you think, you won't understand it.

b. どんなに寒くたって大丈夫です。
No matter how cold it is, it's all right.

【Related Expression】

たって can be replaced by ても. The difference is that ても can be used in spoken and written language and that it is less emotive than たって. Thus, if Example (a) is replaced by the following sentence, the counterfactuality of having money is nullified, and the entire sentence sounds much less emotive.

[1]

お金があっても車は買いたくない。
Even if I have money, I don’t want to buy a car.